Waldorf Tuna Salad

For most of my life, I landed solidly in the “meh” camp. It was smelly, bland, and uninteresting, but edible. All I knew to do with it was mix it with Miracle Whip and put it between slices of bread for a really cheap and boring sandwich. Maybe add some pickles if you really wanted to put off your lunch-mates at school or work.

So for most of my life, I simply avoided it.

Which is a shame, because canned tuna is a wonderfully economical and convenient source of protein. Sometimes, when you’re tired of cooking everything from scratch, it can be nice to pull something inexpensive out of the pantry that’s pretty much ready-made, right? Tuna to the rescue!

And if it’s nutritious, too? Bonus! In addition to protein (and all the essential amino acids), tuna contains a healthy dose of iron, potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, niacin, and vitamin B12. Not bad for something so easy and cheap! (It also contains trace amounts of mercury, though, so you don’t want to overdo it — no more than once or twice a week.)

I recently came across a recipe for Waldorf tuna salad, and my whole outlook on this fish-in-a-can has changed. Turns out, with a couple of fresh herbs, some sweetness from apples, and some chopped nuts for textural intrigue, tuna can be quite delightful!

This salad is the opposite of boring. I can easily polish off this entire recipe in one sitting if I’m not careful (though it is intended for two).

The best thing about this recipe is that if you have all the ingredients on hand, you can put it together in about five minutes. A tasty, refreshing, protein-packed lunch whipped up in the span of time it takes to microwave a TV dinner? Yes please!

Oh! But I absolutely must mention: DO try making your own mayonnaise — for this recipe, and for all your mayo needs. It is so, so easy. And you can avoid all the gross and troubling ingredients commonly found in conventional mayonnaise. (Here’s my simple and scrumptious recipe. Seriously, if you haven’t tried it, you must. You will never go back. All my friends are now converts. Even the ones who never make stuff from scratch.)

Please: if you’re a fellow tuna-hater, give this recipe a try. It just might change your mind.

About Kathleen Quiring

Kathleen is an overeducated stay-at-home mom and homesteader wannabe, living and seeking Jesus’ backwards Kingdom in Ontario with her husband and two-year-old daughter. She's a recent brewer of kombucha, goes barefoot eight months out of the year, and owns a disconcerting number of garden gnomes. Read more posts by Kathleen.

Comments

I made this recipe for myself on Thursday. I made it again the next day when my daughter came over for lunch. We are so hooked on this salad. LOVE IT! I will never look at tuna the same way again. My only modification was candied pecans. That’s all I had on hand. This is so easy and quick and delicious. Thank you!

OKay, I’ll cave and try it. Typically I’m not a apple/nut person in my cookies/salad…. whatever. Though I do like (and devour!) them raw. And I am a lifelong fish hater though I tolerate tuna when I’m pregnant and nursing due to the whole healthy for the baby thing.

Here’s a recipe for you, 🙂 trust me on this. Sounds gross and hubby was skeptical the day I told him we were down to random items in the pantry so I threw them all in together…. but it worked:

Adjust to your own personal taste.

I typically use one or two can(s) of tuna, one-ish cups of shredded extra sharp cheddar, one-ish cups of shredded mozzarella, enough mayo to make it the texture I like, quarter to half-ish cup of diced purple onion (other colors will work but don’t taste as good, I think), and toss in salt… and lots of pepper. This works fabulously over a fat sliced summer tomato on a toasted piece of really good yummy bread.

That is the only way I can make tuna palatable so far…. but I’m going to give your recipe a try… tonight. 🙂